


Inside Pitch

by top_me_daenerys



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Softball, basically they play softball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/top_me_daenerys/pseuds/top_me_daenerys
Summary: Inside pitch:A pitch thrown any where between the middle of the plate and the batter's body.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	1. Caught Looking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Caught looking:** A batter is said to have been caught looking when a third strike crosses the plate in the strike zone and the batter does not make an attempt, resulting in a strikeout.

The hazy, yellow warmth of the morning sun began to creep through the window of a room on the third floor of a large, mansion-like house. As the rays of sun slowly crept across the carpet, they illuminated the shadow of a sleeping body in a small, twin-sized bed in the corner of the room. On the walls, crucifixes hung alongside pictures of a stiff-looking family. Much of the space was barren of posters and colored a drab tan. If you were to look closely, though, a little piece of a poster was peeking out from underneath the bed. Bookshelves lined the room with a small desk nestled between two of them. There was not a book, a piece of clothing, nor a picture out of place. 

The clock on the nightside of the room read five-thirty when the door burst open and two, green-haired teenagers barged through. 

“Oh, Mittens!” The boy spoke in a sing-song tone, “It’s time to get up! You’ve got a big day today!” 

A loud groan sounded from the lump on the bed, the covers shifted, but the person underneath gave no indication that they would be getting up anytime soon. The two teenagers glanced at each other, a mischievous glint in their eyes. In one quick, sweeping motion the twins grabbed the pale wrist that was peeking out from the under the covers and yanked, hard. 

A young teenage girl emerged from under the sea of blankets. Her siblings pulled her up, out of bed, and into a standing position. Her hair was a mess of mint green with a splash of brown coming from her roots. 

“Edric! Emira!” The young girl’s gaze shifted from hazy to sharp as she became aware of her surroundings. 

“Oh, c’mon Mittens! It’s a big day!” Emira giggled, “It’s tryouts, we’re finally gonna be on the same team!” 

“We don’t need to be at school until seven-thirty,” Amity groaned, her body sagging in protest against her sibling’s tight grip. The twins held her up, not letting her flail around, “I hate you guys.”

“All I hear is lies,” Edric retorted, Amity sighed and shook the twin’s grip from her body. Her siblings put up no resistance, their hands falling to their sides as their younger sister stepped forward and began to look through her wardrobe.

Edric and Emira watched--and bothered--their sister for a few more minutes before running off to find something or someone else to terrorize. When she realized her siblings were gone, Amity let out a sigh of relief. 

“Idiots,” she muttered to herself, though a small smile began to grow on her face. 

In total, it only took Amity an hour to get ready. At the end of the hour, she found herself looking at her reflection in the mirror, running her hands through her straight, mint-green hair. She could feel how dead the strands of hair were after years of bleaching and dyeing. Her small smile from earlier that morning was gone--her face was back to its normal impassive expression. Amity’s eyes were lifeless and a dull, almost yellow color--especially when compared to her sibling’s brilliant golden eyes. Her hand fell from her hair and hovered over the crucifix around her neck. Sometimes the small cross felt like an anchor pulling her down to the bottom of the ocean, forcing her breathless and weak. Instead of touching it, Amity’s hand curled into a fist and fell to her side. She squared her shoulders one last time then walked out of the bathroom. 

“Amity,” a cold voice called the young teen’s name from the left side. The girl stiffened and turned her body. Her mother’s imposing figure stood about three feet from her. 

“Hey, mom,” Amity’s voice adopted the same cold tone as her mother. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans to hide the way they began to tremble. Mrs. Blight watched her youngest child with a calculated stare. 

“I believe I heard from your sister that softball tryouts are today,” Amity’s mother’s eyes flicked away from her youngest and towards the pictures that lined the walls of the hallway. Some of them were of the entire Blight family situated in stiff poses--similar to the ones in Amity’s room. Most of the pictures were of Edric and Emira, either together or separate, holding trophies up, proudly. There were none of Amity. 

“Yes… they are today,” Amity responded, refusing to look at the wall of pictures that Mrs. Blight was so interested in. 

Amity’s mother’s attention turned back to her daughter and said, “I expect nothing less than perfection.” Amity gulped and nodded. Mrs. Blight gave her one last dissatisfied look and turned away. 

The young teenager let out a hard breath, a pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. Her hand touched the crucifix around her neck gently, moving forward, through the hall, and then down the stairs and into the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, Amity’s father sat at the table reading a newspaper. The twins sat on either side of him pouring salt into his coffee. Amity rolled her eyes and took her place on Emira’s left side. She watched as Mr. Blight lifted his mug of coffee and took a sip without so much as a wince. All three Blight children snickered. 

“Here Mittens,” Edric slid a plate with eggs and toast across the table, “eat up.” 

“What’d you put in this?” Amity asked, picking at it, cautiously. 

“Nothing! We would never do that to you!” Emira gave her an innocent look. The youngest Blight shot her older siblings a hard glare, yet the rumbling in her stomach forced her to fork a small bite of egg into her mouth. She let out a sigh of relief when it tasted somewhat normal--just a little too salty. When the twins put breakfast in front of her it was a fifty-fifty shot on whether it was edible or not. 

Amity ate the food quietly while her siblings continued pouring salt into Mr. Blight’s coffee. At precisely six forty-five, Edric and Emira got up, swinging their backpacks around their shoulders. Amity sighed and shoved the last of the toast into her mouth, chewing as her brother grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her feet. Her backpack was clutched in his other hand. 

“Bye, dad!” Each Blight kid said, kissing their father on the forehead. He only grunted in response. 

Standing by the door was Mrs. Blight. She handed each of her children their lunchbox as they exited the house. When Amity walked past, a pale hand reached out and grabbed her in a vice-like grip, stopping her in her tracks. 

“Remember what I said, Amity,” Piercing gold eyes looked down upon the youngest Blight child. 

“Yes, mom,” Amity mumbled in response, the grip on her shoulder relinquishing. As she walked out the door, her hand subconsciously came up and rubbed the bruising skin. Emira looked back at her younger sister with an awkward, sympathetic smile. 

“I don’t get why she’s so hard on you all the time, Amity,” Edric spoke softly as he threw his backpack into the trunk of his and Emira’s shared car. He put Amity’s bag in the tunk much more carefully. The youngest Blight looked past her brother to make sure her softball bag had been placed in the car the night before. It had. Amity made a noncommittal noise in response to her brother’s comment. 

The ride to school was quick as Emira wasn’t afraid of speeding through neighborhood streets. They parked in their normal spot in the front of the student parking lot. 

“Alright, Mittens. I’ll see you after school. Met me here to get your stuff from the car and we can walk to the locker room together,” Emira knocked Amity’s bruised shoulder, playfully. The younger girl had to bite her tongue to keep the hiss of pain from escaping her lips. 

“I’ll see you out on the fields,” Edric winked at Amity, also knocking her bruised shoulder. He was a varsity player on Hexside High’s baseball team. They practiced on the field adjacent to the one the softball players practiced on. 

“Amity!” A voice called her name from behind. Amity turned around to see Boscha, Skara, and the rest of her posse marching towards her. In an instant, Amity’s disposition changed. Her poster turned rigid, eyes narrowing. 

“Hello,” Amity dipped her head toward them in greeting. Skara immediately grabbed her arm--the bruised one--and pulled her forward. The young Blight girl winced but allowed herself to be dragged through the front doors of the school. 

“Oh my god, I have so much to talk to you about!” Amity groaned internally. Skara’s rambles usually went right up until the first-period bell. 

“Skara, I saw you on Friday and you texted me all weekend. What could you possibly have to tell me?” 

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. 

“I was getting out of my mom’s car, but out of the driver’s side because I have my permit, y’know. I’m taking my driver’s test this Friday and my mom wants me to practice every chance I get. I’m not the best at left turns--usually, I take them too fast…” Skara’s voice slowly grew muted to the rest of the sounds of morning life at Hexcide High School. A locker slammed to her left while loud, hooting laughter reverberated throughout the hall to her right. It smelled like old books and sweat with a hint of cigarette smoke wafting in from outside the front doors. Amity could feel the crucifix around her neck swaying back and forth against the skin of her chest with each step she took. 

“Oh, c’mon Luz!” A familiar voice cut through all of the noise, “You’ll be fine! There are, like, five open spots on the varsity team. Skara and Boscha are given because they were the MVPs of the JV team last year so that leaves three more open spots! I bet you they’ll want to fill at least two of those spots with freshmen! Plus, it’s Eda! She’s practically your mom.” 

“She’s not going to give me any favors, Willow,” Amity’s heart stopped. She turned her head to the left. Leaning against the lockers was Luz Noceda. Her fluffy, brown hair flopped around as her head slammed back against the lockers, a low groan escaping her lips. Amity studied the girl, intensely. She was wearing her normal purple cat hoodie, high-waisted shorts, and leggings. Luz’s arms were crossed in front of her and Amity could see the muscles of her upper arm peeking out from under the cursed, purple cat hoodie. Her eyes were shut as the back of her head rested against the painted blue and yellow metal of the locker behind her, a tight frown on her face. Still, Amity Blight thought she may have never seen anyone more beautiful in her short fourteen years of life. 

“Amity!” A hand shook her shoulder, roughly. Pain flared up the side of her neck, but Amity bit her tongue, again, her attention violently shifting back to Skara. 

“Are you even listening to me?” Her friend’s face was pulled into a pout, big grey eyes looked imploringly into Amity’s. 

“No, she was too busy staring at the freaks over there,” Boscha scoffed. Amity felt like a bucket filled with ice water had just been poured over her head but her expression remained indifferent. 

“I was just looking at the time, Boscha,” She kept her voice emotionless as she turned towards her own locker, fiddling with the combination until the door swung open, “I recommend you be nice to them. Sounds like they’ll be at tryouts today, too.” 

A snort sounded from behind her. “You don’t actually think they’ll make the team, do you?” 

Amity shrugged her shoulders as she piled her books, binder, and backpack all into the cramped locker. “It doesn’t matter what I think. Edalyn Clawthorne is the coach of the varsity team and she’ll put you on JV again this year if you keep making comments like that.” Amity turned herself around, again, making a point not to look at Boscha.

Though, by forcing herself not to look to the side, Amity looked straightforward. Right into the big, brown eyes of Luz Noceda. 

Luz’s eyebrows scrunched, adorably, a big smile replaced the frown that had been on her face as the realization that Amity was looking back at her registered in her brain. A big hand was thrown up into the hair, waving wilding at the young Blight. Warmth was beginning to pool in Amity’s stomach, traveling throughout her torso, down her limbs, and up into her face. 

“Hey, Amity!” Luz called to her. Amity could only give the girl a stiff nod in response, quickly turning her body and speed walking down the hall--she could feel Skara, Boscha, and the rest of the group struggling to keep up with her. Just as Amity was about to turn out of the hall, she heard Willow remark;

“I don’t know why you even try, Luz. Amity’s a bitch…She doesn’t care about people like us.” 

Amity willed her eyes closed, trying to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from falling. She hugged the binder in her arms tighter her chest, pushing the door that led into the stairwell open with her hip, not bothering to stay and listen to what Luz would say in response. 

She didn’t think she was strong enough for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me here if you'd like to see what I'm put to:
> 
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> 
> [Twitter ](https://twitter.com/top_me_daenerys)
> 
> [Insta ](https://www.instagram.com/top_me_daenerys/)


	2. Form Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Form running:** Proper running technique.

Luz Noceda groaned, loudly, stretching her limbs. Her lips smacked together, languidly. Her eyes drifted down to the papers in front of her. She groaned, again--her head flew forward and slammed into the desk that she sat behind. 

“Stop squirming around so much,” Willow, who was sitting at a desk adjacent to Luz’s, spoke. She never looked up from her own papers. 

“I’m just… so bored!” Luz exclaimed, causing a few students around them to glance in her direction. Thankfully, their teacher was too busy talking animatedly to a student about their work to notice Luz’s outburst. 

“I think you’re still nervous. It’s alright to be nervous, Luz. Today’s a big day. It’s softball tryouts,” Willow still hadn’t looked up from the work laid out on her desk. 

Luz groaned a third time. Her hand reached up and brushed the crucifix that hung around her neck. It was an old, ratty thing but the gold of the actual cross stood out and gleamed brightly in the mundane light of the classroom. Neither Luz nor her mother were particularly religious; however, the necklace was a Noceda heirloom that Camila had given her daughter. It was thought to be an extremely lucky item. Both Luz’s mother and grandmother seemed to have the best of luck when it was circling their necks. Luz carefully tucked the cross into her shirt and swiveled in her chair to face Willow. 

“How can you be so calm about this!” The young teen’s hand reached out, waving in between Willow and the papers in front of her. Willow sighed and finally looked up at Luz. Her gaze was scrutinizing--as if she was trying to figure out the source of Luz’s anxiety through eye contact alone. 

“My dads’ and I had a very relaxing yoga and tea session this morning. I still have some chamomile in my travel mug if you’d like to have the rest of it.” Luz squinted her eyes at her friend in thought. 

“Would I like it?” 

Willow shrugged, pushing the travel mug on her desk closer to Luz, “Probably not. But it’s much healthier than those energy drinks you down before class starts.”

Luz gave her friend a look then took the container and sniffed it, awkwardly. “Bleh...Willow this smells gross.” Luz made a face, holding the drink at arm’s length for a moment. 

“Because it’s natural and doesn’t have a fuck ton of chemicals in it?” 

“Touche,” Luz relented and took a small sip of the tea. Her countenance afterward made it look like she had just ingested gasoline. Willow scoffed and leaned back. She wore an astonished expression on her face. 

“I can’t believe you.” 

Their lighthearted conversation was abruptly interrupted when a spitball zoomed through the classroom and hit Willow in the side of the head. A second one followed and hit Luz on her forehead. Both girls pivoted in their seats to look at the culprit. 

Boscha was sitting in the row behind them at the opposite end of the room. She sat alone. Amity and the rest of her group of friends had been placed in a different period for math class. Luz noticed that the sophomore always seemed a bit more agitated and aggressive when Amity wasn’t around. Boscha smirked as she stuffed a straw into her pocket

Willow exhaled loudly and wiped the spitball off her head. Luz huffed and scowled at Boscha. 

“She better not take these tryouts away from us,” Luz muttered. Willow shrugged. 

“It’s Boscha… She’s friends with Amity. What do you expect?” 

Luz glanced at Willow, quickly, and hesitantly responded, “Amity’s never been an issue for me. She just seems… distant.” 

“It’s your first year at Hexside, Luz. I bet you at the end of the year she’ll show you her true colors.” Willow sighed and looked away from Luz for a moment. Her face was pulled into a taut frown. 

Luz and Willow had met only a few months prior at the beginning of the school year. It was Luz’s first year at Hexside and Willow happened to be the first person kind enough to offer her a spot at her lunch table. Through Willow, Luz met Augustus Porter (who she gifted the nickname ‘Gus’), and the three of them quickly became as thick as thieves. 

“I don’t know…” Luz trailed off, her mind drifting to the girl in question. Amity always seemed on top of things. She and Luz shared both chemistry and history class together. The green-haired girl never showed up late to class and never turned in late work. Miss Clawthorne--Lilith Clawthorne--who taught history seemed to always be appreciative of Amity’s timeliness. Mrs. Clawthorne-Noceda--Eda Clawthorne-Noceda--Hexside’s resident chemistry teacher and self-proclaimed ‘bad girl’ wasn’t as appreciative. 

Luz would know as Eda was her stepmom. She could imagine the conversation almost verbatim. 

“Would it kill that girl to turn in one late assignment… or screw up on one test!” Eda would say as she plopped down on the couch in the Clawthorne-Noceda’s living room--a stack of papers in her hands ready to grade. 

“Isn’t that a good thing, mi alma?” Luz’s mom would ask from the kitchen as she cooked dinner. Eda always offered to cook but Luz and Camila made sure she stayed clear of their dinners after she tried to cook a steak in the microwave; it almost set the house on fire. 

Eda huffed, “Sure, I guess. Lily always talks and talks and talks about her potential and blah, blah, blah. Y’know… I’ve never once seen that kid smile.” Camila would look over at Eda with an empathetic expression. She, then, would turn to Luz. 

“What do you think, reinita?” Her mother would say, “Do you talk to Amity very often?” 

Luz would shrug and shake her head, “No, I don’t talk to her that much. Willow really doesn’t like her.” 

And then Eda would cackle at one of the answers on the papers she was grading, saying, “You guys will get a laugh out of this!” And proceed to tell Luz and Camila the stupid thing someone had answered in a desperate attempt to gain some points--even if it was just completion points. 

Shaking her head to bring her consciousness back to the present, Luz decided to not reply to Willow. Her eyes wandered to the clock on the wall, watching the minutes tick by. Her mind still stuck on Eda’s words.” 

_“Y’know… I’ve never once seen that kid smile.”_

***

Amity’s hands trembled. Her eyes were fixed on her sister’s softball bag as she followed close behind her to Hexside’s softball fields. She, quickly, tried to hide her shaking fingers by smoothing out the wrinkles of her brand new softball pants. They, then, fluttered to her waist to make sure her baggy, hand-me-down, Hexside softball t-shirt was properly tucked into them. 

“Hey! Em! How ya doing?!” Amity’s eyes shifted up. A few feet away stood the captain of Hexside’s varsity softball team, Viney. She was a senior and had been voted the league’s MVP the year prior. Amity recognized her from watching Emira’s games--though she didn’t recognize the strange expression on her sister’s face. 

“Viney! Hey! I’m uh… I’m great, um… ready for a fantastic season!” Emira’s face turned bright red, her eyes wide and fluttering around to avoid making eye contact with the girl in front of her. 

“Oh, hi! You must be Em’s sister,” Viney’s attention drifted from Emira and to Amity who was still trying to piece together her sister’s odd behavior. 

“Hello,” Amity stuck her hand out, cursing herself silently when she noticed her hands still shook, “my name Amity Blight. I’m pleased to meet you.” 

“Wow, look at that Em,” Viney bumped her hips with Emira, “I wish you were that polite.” 

“Don’t mind, Mittens. She just talks like a forty-year-old. Trust me… she is not polite,” Emira rolled her eyes but her face stayed a bright red color. Amity crossed her arms, slightly embarrassed at her sister’s teasing. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Viney winked at Amity. It was the younger Blight’s turn to flush a bright red color--heat flowed through her body, up her neck, and into her face

She chalked it up to getting attention from an older student.

The three of them made their way the rest of the way down to the softball field. As soon as Amity stepped foot in the dirt, she was bombarded from all sides. Boscha, Skara, Cat, Jessica, and some other sophomores surrounded her, talking a mile a minute. 

“Someone’s little miss popular,” Amity heard Viney giggle to Emira. 

“More like little miss perfect,” Emira muttered back, rolling her eyes and turning away to greet some of the other varsity players. 

A pang of hurt struck Amity’s heart. She was nowhere near perfect. Her mother’s disapproving countenance every morning proved that to her. 

“C’mon, Amity! Sophomore and freshman put our bags in this dugout,” Skara grabbed Amity’s hand and pulled her towards the first base dugout. Inside, Amity recognized some familiar faces in the dugout. She gave a few cordial greetings and then situated herself in the back corner of the dug out. Skara and Boscha put their bags right next to hers. 

Skara was talking to her, Amity wasn’t listening. She was pulling on her cleats and trying her hardest to hide her shaking hands. 

“Hey Jess! Are those new pants?!” Amity head snapped up. Luz was standing in the entrance of the dugout with an excited expression. The young Blight girl felt her heart stop in her chest. The sun was hitting half of Luz’s face, illuminating her warm, brown skin, her radiant smile and her expressive, chestnut eyes.. Her fluffy hair was sticking up at all angles. The softball pants she dawned were black with wear marks on her knees and the back of her thigh; skin tight. 

Amity felt her mouth dry and her face grow hot. She tore her gaze away from Luzz and back to her untied cleats. 

“Alright ladies!” A loud voice shouted from the middle of the field, “Line-up!” 

The voice was Lilith Clawthorne’s. She was Amity’s history teacher as well as her parent’s pick her as her personal tutor. Lilith came to Blight manor at least once a month to work through extra lessons with the youngest Blight. Even with her personal relationship with Coach Lilith, Amity never felt completely comfortable around her. She never felt completely comfortable around anyone except maybe her siblings. 

The young teenager straightened her posture and stiffened her expression, her eyes glazing over in faux disinterest. Boscha, Skara, and some other sophomores followed Amity out of the dug out like lost puppies. 

“Amity Blight,” Lilith’s eyes traced over the large crowd in front of her in search of the young girl.

“Here,” Amity’s hand raised into the air, awkwardly. 

“What position are you trying out for?” Lilith asked, with a small smile. 

“Pitcher,” Amity responded in a confident tone. Several pairs of eyes turned to stare at her, most of them upperclassmen who were also gunning for the open pitcher spot. 

There were only really five spots open on the varsity team with a few swing positions open as well (players who played on both the junior varsity and varsity team). Usually, softball teams had two or three pitchers on staff. Hexside’s varsity team star pitcher had graduated the year prior and so the team only had one pitcher--a junior named Bo. Along with the open pitcher spot, Coach Lilith and Coach Eda were looking for a catcher, two infielders, and two outfielders. 

The only two people Amity was certain were going to get onto the varsity team were Skara and Boscha. Boscha was a shoe-in for an outfielder position while Skara was an amazing second baseman. Amity’s anxiety increased tenfold at the thought of Boscha and Skara making the team while she was either cut or picked for JV. 

“Luz Noceda?” Lilith called. Amity swore she saw the corners of the coach’s lips turn upwards. 

“Here!” Luz replied, happily. Her hand shot straight up into the air. Amity had to force herself to look down at the dirt under her feet.

“And what position are you trying out for, Luz?” 

Luz glanced at Amity briefly before replying, “Catcher.” 

Amity’s heart stopped in her chest. 

***

Luz noticed that Amity seemed nervous. She couldn’t blame the other girl, though, as she had felt nauseous all day long. 

“Hey kiddo,” a hard clap on her shoulder caused her to jump. Luz grinned and looked up, her eyes connected with Eda. She must’ve shown up a bit late. 

“Hey, Eda… er… should I call you Coach Eda?” Her step mom rolled her eyes, patting Luz’s shoulder, again. 

“Kid, I don’t even let my varsity players call me Coach Eda. That’s all Lily…” there was a sparkle of mischief in her eyes as she leaned down and whispered into Luz’s ear, “though, I’m going to try my hardest to get everyone to call her coach preppy-pants this year.” 

Luz stifled her laugh with her hand. Willow, who was standing on the other side of Luz gave her and Eda an odd look. Eda winked at Willow and, then, straightened her posture and calling out:

“Alright, can I have everyone line up? Viney and Emira you’re in the front. We’re gonna take a lap and do some stretches.” 

The run and stretches went smoothly--though Luz couldn’t help but feel intimidated by all the upperclassmen around her. After their run, the girls picked throwing partners and warmed but their arms. Luz picked Willow. 

“You scared, Noceda?” A smirking tone came from her left side. Luz rolled her eyes. 

“Not in the slightest, Boscha,” Luz lied. She didn’t feel bad lying to Boshca. 

“Leave her alone, Boscha,” Amity’s voice rang out. Luz looked across from Boscha to find that her throwing partner was, in fact, Amity. 

To her surprise, the comment was all it took to make Boscha shut up. Luz tried to give the Blight girl a thankful smile but Amity refused to look at her. A small frown grew on her face. She turned her attention back to Willow who gave her a knowing look. 

Willow and Luz continued to play catch for another few minutes until Eda called everyone back together as a group. 

“Alright kids,” Eda clapped her hands together, once; loudly. “For try-outs today, we will start with some simple infield and outfield drills. Then, we’ll move onto base running and we’ll finish today with timed sprints around the bags. I know some of you were expecting some more position specific drills and batting… we will be doing all of that tomorrow. Now… Can I have half of you at second base and half of you at shortstop. Viney, Emira… will you two be my catchers?” 

Luz found herself behind shortstop. Skara stood in line in front of her. The small girl kept turning around and looking at Luz, expectantly. The only thing Luz could do was look at her in confusion. 

“You’re Luz, right?” Skara asked, her grey eyes appeared curious as they looked Luz up and down. 

“Yup and you’re Skara,” Luz replied, hesitantly. Skara’s eyes lit up. 

“I honestly don’t know why Boscha doesn’t like you. You seem cool.” With that said, Skara turned around without waiting for Luz’s response. 

Luz’s eyebrows furrowed in further confusion but she shrugged to herself; though Skara’s words did make her feel a little better about herself. Skara had said Boscha didn’t like her, not Amity. 

The infield and outfield drills that Eda subjected them went well for Luz. Each time she made a good play or a good throw, she could see the twinkle of pride in Eda’s eyes. Luz was keeping tabs on both Willow and Amity--both girls seemed to be doing well as well. 

Base running was one of Luz’s strong suits. She had always been fast and able to maneuver around the bases with ease. So, it was no surprise that her home to first sprint time was written down at the top of Eda’s list as the fastest. Only Skara came close to beating her time. 

Overall, Luz thought her first day of tryouts went extremely well. 

***

Amity screwed everything up. 

She had totally fucked herself over. Her home to first sprint time was terrible. She had missed a play at second base and threw the ball over her sister’s head. She was sure she saw Coach Eda flinch. 

There was no chance that she would be on the varsity team now--

“Good job, Mittens,” Emira clapped her on the back, hard. Hard enough that the bruise on her shoulder flared up slightly. Amity looked up at her older sister with a blank expression. Emira wasn’t looking back, her attention was drawn to the side. Bo and Viney were waving her over. 

“I’ll be back in a sec,” Emira patted Amity’s bruised shoulder, again. Amity winced and watched her sister leave. She stood, alone, at the edge of the parking lot. Boscha and Skara had already left. Most of the players had already left. Only some of the varsity players, Luz, and the Clawthorne sisters were left at the field. 

Amity’s hand fiddled with the strap of her softball bag. Her thoughts racing over how she would tell her parents… tell her mother… that she wasn’t good enough to be on the varsity team. 

“Hey Mittens!” Edric, dressed in his baseball practice uniform, waved at her from a few feet away, “I’m hanging out with the guys, tell Em not to wait up for me!” He gestured toward the baseball players at his side to prove his point. Amity nodded once to let him know she heard him. 

The hand fiddling with her softball hand grew shaky the longer Emira left her alone. Amity wanted to go home and curl up under her blankets. She sighed and forced herself to straighten her back. Bad posture showed weakness. Amity didn’t need to show any more weakness. 

“Hey, Mittens, I know you said you wanted to go home but Viney, Bo, and I wanted to go get some milkshakes. Obviously, you’re invited. I’ll pay for you,” Amity clenched her teeth and looked at her feet. She had three options. One; go with her sister and her friends and try to keep her deteriorating energy levels from making her seem too awkward or cold. Two; ask her mother or father for a ride--though both of them were at work and it would likely be another few hours of waiting. Three; Amity could walk home. She was exhausted and her legs felt like jelly but she was pretty sure she could make the ten mile walk without seeming too tired at dinner. Plus, if she left now she would be home before Emira got back to the house. Last time it had only taken her an hour and thirty minutes. It seemed to be the option that would cause her the least amount of strife. 

She looked back up at Emira and opened her mouth to answer but another voice cut her off before she could. 

“If you want a ride home, kid, we got room in the back,” Amity’s face went white as a sheet. Her eyes flickered to the left. Standing a few feet away was Coach Eda, Coach Lilith, and Luz--who waved at her enthusiastically. 

“I…” Amity stuttered. 

“Oh, perfect! Is that alright, Mittens?” Amity didn’t answer but Emira was practically pushing her younger sister towards the coaches. The youngest Blight child had the feeling that her older sister wouldn’t take no as an answer. Emira only stopped pushing Amity when they stood directly in front of Eda, Lilith, and Luz. After an awkward thirty seconds of silence, Amity looked up at Eda from her feet. It seemed like she was waiting for Amity’s verbal consent before they left. 

“Oh… um… sure. Yeah,” Luz squealed happily at Amity’s response, her arms were quickly thrown around the mint-haired girl’s shoulders, jostling her hurt shoulder. Amity couldn’t control the way her face screwed up into a wince. Though, her expression was cooled just as quickly, but not before the Clawthorne sisters shot each other matching worried looks. 

Luz’s body was warm against Amity’s. She could feel Luz’s short hair brushing up against her cheek and her large hands curled up against Amity’s back. A horrible fluttering sensation pooled in the bottom of Amity’s stomach, her face flush a deep red color. However, she subconsciously leaned into the embrace.

Amity couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged her. 

“Alright, kid,” Eda chuckled as she pulled Luz away from Amity, “we don’t want her to explode.” 

“Goodbye, Emira. I hope you enjoy your ice cream,” Lilith spoke in her usual orthodox timbre. Despite that, Amity felt like she could detect a hint of disappointment in her mentor’s tone. Was Lilith angry with Em? Amity shook the thought out her head. It wouldn’t make sense. 

Luz practically dragged Amity to the car, showing her excitedly how the back opened when she kicked her foot out in front of a sensor. 

“Look, our bags can cuddle!” Luz exclaimed, happily, when Amity’s bag slumped over slightly to touch Luz’s. 

Amity quickly turned away so that Luz wouldn’t see her face turn red again. She quietly cursed herself for letting her control slip. 

Only when Amity got in the back of the car did she analyze the situation she found herself in. She could understand why Eda and Lilith carpooled together but how did Luz fit into all of this? Eda and Luz seemed friendly with each other--Amity would know as she had chemistry with the girl. Yet, Amity couldn’t recall them being close or anything. Sure, Eda would tease Luz in class but she teased everyone in class. Maybe Amity needed to look up from her work more. 

“So...baby Blight,” Eda grinned at Amity wildly as she hopped into the front seat. Lilith got into the car much more gracefully.“Where are we takin’ ya?” 

“Oh, uh,” Amity began to smooth out the wrinkles in her pants, “I live on Belos Avenue.” 

Eda whistled softly, “That’s a nice area!” Lilith gave her sister a sharp look. 

“Edalyn. You live in a three story house on the water.” Eda winked at the two young teenagers in the back. 

“What can I say? My wife’s a hard worker. That’s what happens when you marry a surgeon.” 

Amity blanched with shock in the backseat. Eda said wife. It was a simple phrase but it struck the young Blight with so many conflicting emotions. Hope. Fear. Anxiety. Confusion. Eda seemed to sense that Amity was growing uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. 

“Both of you kids did great out there today,” Amity’s eyes rose from her lap to connect with Eda’s through the mirror. 

***

In the front seat, Eda’s heart clenched at the pure anxiety in Amity Blight’s eyes. The girl had done extremely well, especially for being a freshman. She could only recall one error that Amity had made during the drills and while her sprints weren’t the fastest, Amity hadn’t been slow either. She had a solid shot at making the varsity team in Eda’s mind--depending on how well she pitched the next day. 

“Thank you, coach Eda,” Amity said, robotically. Her head dipped down briefly in a grateful gesture. 

Since Amity had enrolled in her chemistry class that fall, Eda had wondered how this well-mannered child behaved so different from her older siblings. The Blight twins had taken her class the year prior and were terrors (which Eda entertained to a certain degree). They had demanded to be lab partners and lit at least three things in the class on fire over the course of the year. Plus, Emira played for the varsity team and while she was a star player, she seemed to always be up to something mischievous. When Eda saw that she was given a third Blight child while going over her rosters before classes started, she was prepared for a repeat experience. 

She had even bought an extra fire extinguisher. 

Nevertheless, when Amity Blight had walked into her classroom, Eda was thoroughly surprised. The girl was always early. Her assignments were always turned in on time. She was always the first one to finish tests and always the top score. At first, Amity’s preppy facade irked Eda. No student was that perfect. She, honestly, dreaded the fact that Amity would probably join the softball team like her sister as Eda didn’t know if she could deal with the young teenager’s cold demeanor on a more intimate level. 

However, Eda increasingly began to see cracks in Amity’s facade. Little telltale signs that, maybe, Amity had more to her than the icy persona she projected to her peers. Clues always manifested in the young girl’s eyes. 

It was almost as if she was crying for help with her eyes. 

And driving Amity home only increased most of Eda’s fears. As she glanced at Lily, she could see the concern in her older sister’s eyes. Maybe...she was starting to feel the same way.

Good. Maybe Lilith would finally listen to Eda’s ‘irrational’ theories on Amity Blight.

“Yeah, Amity! You did great today! I can’t wait to watch you pitch tomorrow… WAIT!” Luz’s eyes got big, her body tensed with excitement. Amity’s eyes got big, too, but her body tensed in fear. Luz shifted her body so she was fully facing Amity. She was practically vibrating with anticipation. 

“Can I be your catcher tomorrow?” 

Amity’s face turned a vibrate shade of red. Eda’s eyebrows quirked and she couldn’t help but look over at her sister, again. Lilith was smirking, silently, as she watched the two girls in the back. Who would have thought that austere, aloof Amity Blight’s weakness would be in the form of Eda’s own step daughter. 

The young Blight girl floundered for a moment and then replied; 

“Uh… yeah. Sure, Luz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me here if you'd like to see what I'm put to:
> 
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/my-dads-a-lawyer)
> 
> [Twitter ](https://twitter.com/top_me_daenerys)
> 
> [Insta ](https://www.instagram.com/top_me_daenerys/)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me here if you'd like to see what I'm put to:
> 
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/my-dads-a-lawyer)
> 
> [Twitter ](https://twitter.com/top_me_daenerys)
> 
> [Insta ](https://www.instagram.com/top_me_daenerys/)


End file.
